


Charcoal and Gilding

by ravendas



Series: Crimson and Ebony [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-07 05:32:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravendas/pseuds/ravendas
Summary: The continuing saga of Darth Hyperia and her companions as the war with Zakuul emerges and the Wrath becomes the Outlander.





	1. Through Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I dreamed I was missing  
> You were so scared  
> But no one would listen  
> 'Cause no one else cared
> 
> -"Leave Out All the Rest" by Linkin Park
> 
> I thought it would be interesting to see what Quinn was going through when the Sith Warrior goes missing at the beginning of KotFE. Just a quick chapter...I will probably switch POVs for the next chapter...and begin blending as they get closer to their reunion.

“Where. Is. SHE?!”

Vette’s brown eyes went wide as Quinn shoved her against the bulkhead of the ship. She had never seen the normally-unflappable Captain so enraged before….and it terrified her. But, she had to admit, he had good reason. He had left the ship to travel alone to Dromund Kaas on an errand, and when he reunited with them when the ship arrived there, Darth Hyperia, the former Emperor’s Wrath and his wife, was missing and presumed dead.

They had been summoned by Darth Marr to help track the elusive Emperor, and Hyperia had contacted him through his comm to let him know that they would meet him back on Dromund Kaas when their mission was complete. That was the last he had heard from her.

Lt. Pierce had never liked the stuffy Captain, but even he had to feel a twinge of sympathy for the man. He didn’t like to be the harbinger of bad news, but decided that someone needed to tell him what happened….get it over with so that he could move on.

“She’s gone. Marr’s ship was obliterated while she was on it.”

Quinn spun upon him, snarling, “You lie. You just wanted to be rid of her. You were jealous….”

Pierce stepped up to put his face right into Quinn’s, his voice low and dangerous, “If that was the case, it would have been _you_ I would have gotten rid of. Don’t know what she ever saw….”

Having recovered from the initial assault, Vette pushed away from the bulkhead to step between them, “Whoa boys! This is not the time or place for this! We need to figure out what we’re going to do now.”

“I’m done with the lot of you”, Pierce growled. “You want to go on some wild bantha chase across the galaxy for a dead woman, go right ahead. I’ve spent far too long sharing a ship with this….pompous idiot.” He gestured sharply at Quinn, then strode to his quarters, gathered up his pack and stomped down the ramp.

“Lieutenant! Your insubordination…”, Quinn began.

“Oh stuff it….Captain. Go write it in a report or something”, Pierce tossed over his shoulder as he disappeared into the hanger bay.

Vette stood for a moment, just glancing between the enraged Quinn and the ramp. “Hey. If you want to go look for her, I can show you where the….umm…battle was. It should be safe now.”

Quinn felt his gut twist in dread. He didn’t want to go see where she could have….died. But he needed to. Nodding, he strode to the cockpit. “Just give me the coordinates.”

\------------------------

They emerged from hyperspace into a starship graveyard. The remains of ships, both Imperial and Republic, floated through the debris-littered space, surrounding the shell of Marr’s enormous superdestroyer that had been torn in half as though by a giant pair of hands.

“Oh my…stars….” Vette’s voice cut through the silence.

Quinn couldn’t tear his eyes from the carnage. Even during the Battle of Druckenwell, he had never seen a fleet so utterly decimated. _Did the Emperor do this?_ “What happened?” He tried to keep his voice steady, but it came out as a raw whisper.

“We docked with Marr’s ship. She was just going to meet up with him to get the details of our mission while we refueled and resupplied. Then….out of nowhere, this….legion of ships appeared. I’ve never seen anything like them. There were hundreds of them. They began attacking without warning. Then our airlock seal took a hit. We had to disengage from Marr’s ship and….she told us to run, to warn the Empire. We didn’t want to leave…but…we figured that they’d manage to get away….somehow. We tried to contact her on her comm…but….” The twi’lek’s voice trailed off into what sounded like a choked sob.

Quinn just sat in silence, staring at the remains of Marr’s ship, feeling a numbness overtake him. _She’s gone. No…she can’t be._ He could not tear his gaze from the ship. _Wait…_ “Vette. The escape pods were all launched. Could she have been on one of them?”

The twi’lek shook her head, “I don’t know. We tried all the emergency channels and got no response at all. I don’t even know where the pods would have ended up. There’s a whole lot of nothing around here.”

Quinn’s fingers danced over the console, activating the scanners to sweep the debris field. He had to do something…anything…to keep his mind off of the fact that she could be dead or captured or injured somewhere out there. After a few minutes, he sank his head into his hands, “Nothing. No life readings and the trails for the escape pods are long cold now.”

Vette cautiously put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She’s survived worse than this. She’s probably out there somewhere, trying to get back to you. She can use the Force to find you, can’t she?”

His head suddenly snapped up at Vette’s words. _Our bond…_ When they pledged themselves to each other in marriage, Hyperia had initiated a Force bond between them. Being non-Force-sensitive, Quinn could not do much more with it than know if she was alive or dead, but she could use it to find him. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and concentrated like she had told him. _“Just reach out to me with your mind…and I will feel you there…and you will know that I will always be here for you.”_

_Where are you, my Lord…my love? Would I have felt it if you were dead?_

His eyes suddenly snapped open. She was out there, he felt the faintest hint of her unique presence. But it was muted somehow. She wasn’t dead….but he did not sense that she was aware of him either. It was like trying to rouse someone in a coma. He could reach out to her, brush the presence he felt, but she could not respond. What had happened to her? Had she put herself into a Force trance to escape the destruction? He tried again, pushing back the headache the straining was starting to give him. If she had, she was not here…his ability was limited, but her presence felt very distant.

“She’s alive. But I can’t tell where. And…she’s in a trance or coma or…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I can’t tell. She’s not awake or aware of anything.”

Vette sighed, “I know you want to find her, but we can’t sit here forever. That fleet may come back. For all we know, they’re attacking us…as in the Empire…or the Republic…or both. It was a huge fleet. I think we should go back to Dromund Kaas and see if she turns up there. If she got hurt or captured or something, and they find out who she is…they might want to try and…ransom her…or something…”

“That does not make me feel any better, Vette.” Quinn raked his hand through his dark hair and sighed. “But, as much as I hate to admit it, you are right. And perhaps I can entreat upon the Dark Council to aid in the search. She is the Emperor’s Wrath, after all.”

“Or was until the Emperor decided to go full-blown psycho and eat an entire planet….” Vette muttered, then shrank away at Quinn’s glare. “Yeah, I know…wrong thing to say. I’m gonna shut up now.”

\--------------------------

Weeks went by…then months…neither the Dark Council nor the Imperial Military would even respond to his holocalls anymore. They were too busy fighting a war with this new Eternal Empire and, for all they were concerned, the Emperor’s Wrath was irrelevant now and he was just another officer of the ranks. He had even tried to petition Empress Acina herself, only to be turned away by her stuffy little Minster Lorman. The man had seemed offended that anyone would even want to find the Emperor’s Wrath. _He probably worries that if she does reappear, that she will try to usurp Acina’s place._

Quinn sat on the bed in their apartment on Dromund Kaas, staring at the small crystalline box in his hands for probably the hundredth time since her disappearance. That box and its contents were the reason why he had not been at her side for the battle. He had ordered it from a renowned jeweler in Kaas City, and with the intent to surprise her with it for their anniversary. It was a simple piece: a pendant of Ruusan copper, to match the sheen of her hair, surrounding an opalescent memory gem designed to store holo messages. He had hoped that it would be a fitting gift since they had discussed the matter of having a child before she had…disappeared. He thought it would be appropriate to not only store holos of their child upon it, but record messages for him/her to see when the child grew older.

Now, he could only send one last message to her and hope that she might eventually find it. Already, the motion sensors to the elevator were blinking a warning. _Lorman’s men. I had a feeling he wasn’t just going to let me go._ He did not know what the Minister had planned for him, but he could only pray that he lived to see her again.

The Imperials burst through the door just as he finished sliding the box beneath her pillow.

“Captain Malavai Quinn! You are under arrest for sedition and conspiracy against the Empire!”


	2. Who I Used to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this place it seems like such a shame.  
> Though it all looks different now,  
> I know it's still the same  
> Everywhere I look you're all I see.  
> Just a fading f*cking reminder of who I used to be.  
> "Something I Can Never Have" - NIN
> 
> Chapter 1 of KoTFE from the eyes of Darth Hyperia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended to make this chapter mostly head-canon, but decided that this was one chapter I felt needed to be told mostly intact and in full from the game itself so I could transition from point A to B and set up backstory for all that happens from here on out. The next few chapters will utilize more summarizing of the game storyline and include more headcanon, etc.

_“If you see an opening to escape, then take it! Someone has to get back to the Empire and warn them!”_

_“The hyperdrive is completely burnt out…”_

_“Shields are failing and we are surrounded! All hands abandon ship!”_

_Metal screaming, explosions tearing….white-hot pain…._

_Darkness…_

_Where am I?_

Slowly her senses began to return…the firm give of a mattress beneath, the antiseptic scent of cleaning fluids; bright, stark light forcing its way into her vision as her eyes slowly opened to take in her surroundings. She was in a bunk in a small room, occupied only by another set of bunks across from her own and a small couch. The walls were bare and utilitarian. The lights, which had seemed bright at first, were actually only a few small dim panels, leaving most of the room in shadows. As she tried to push herself upright, she noticed a heaviness to her hands…shackles encircled her wrists of a type she had not seen before. 

_Something feels wrong…_ Experimentally, she tried to reach out with the Force to ascertain anything about her new surroundings, and found nothing but emptiness. _They are inhibiting my abilities…._ Her stomach tied into knots at this realization. Whoever her unknown captors were, they knew about the Force…and how to restrain it effectively. She noted that her lightsabers were missing...no surprise...and silently cursed herself for opting to wear her more ceremonial armor when she boarded Marr's ship. The obsidian metal and crimson silk were more decorative than functional...and was showing definite wear from the battle: the armor itself scratched and pitted, the fabric torn and burnt. At least their jailers had seen fit to let her continue to wear it. It would serve better than prison garb, should the need arise.

Almost as though prompted by her thoughts, a figure interposed itself into her view. He was close enough that she could feel the Force emanating strongly from him. Upon first impression, he seemed an odd juxtaposition of Sith and Jedi….his face was half-covered in a sleek mask of black metal and gold platisteel, obviously concealing some grave injury by the scar tissue lining its edges and crawling across his scalp; and his left arm was completely cybernetic; but his garb was simple, yet elegant in a way: a white tunic cut in wedge-shaped angles, edged in an unfamiliar gold script, and adorned with what looked like golden sigils. His bearing exuded nobility and authority as he stared brazenly down at her with one eye of faintly-glowing copper. _Is he the leader of these people?_

“You have awakened. I trust you can walk?” His voice was deep, reverberating metallically through the mask, his words dripping with indolent superiority tinged with a faint amusement.

She could not help but toss an insolent smirk to the man, his condescending manner grating on her nerves, “Take off these shackles and I’ll show you exactly what I can do.”

Something that sounded like an amused chuckle issued from the mask, “You are in the heart of our Empire now. I assure you, escape is impossible. Even if you could get past me.” As if to demonstrate his point, she felt another wave of pure Force energy radiate from the man. _He is definitely strong in the Force, I don’t doubt he would be a challenge._ “Now come along.” He spat the words out as though chastising an unruly child, then turned from her to allow the guard who had been standing silently at his side to step forward and prod her with her rifle.

She tossed a glare to the guard as she stood and followed her unknown captor from the cell. Emerging from the cell across from her own were an identically-shackled Darth Marr and another of the armored guards.

Marr wasted no time inquiring of the leader, “What Empire have we entered?”

“The Eternal Empire, Zakuul”, the response laced with pride. “You did not even know whose territory you were invading?”

Hyperia could not keep silent any longer, “This was not an invasion. We were looking for someone.”

“In an armed warship?”, the man’s one visible brow raised incredulously.

She couldn’t keep the smirk from her lips, “We weren’t looking for a friend. Besides, I believe you invaded us first.”

He shrugged nonchalantly as he led them from the cell block and through twisting corridors of metal and glass, “We tested your strength.”

“You seem to have suffered for it”, Marr observed, obviously referring to the man’s cybernetic prosthetics.

A smirk could not been seen from behind his mask, but his words dripped with arrogance, “Less than your people did.”

“Prince Arcann, final docking sequence has initiated”, a voice intoned over the comm.

_So, we have a name now….and my hunch about his being some sort of nobility was correct. A prince…interesting._ Hyperia mused silently to herself as this “Arcann” led them down a glass-lined boarding tube. She could not help but take in the view: spires of black metal and glass rose kilometers above the atmosphere of a planet shrouded by clouds, their ship docking at the tallest which boasted an enormous transparent globe upon its peak. _A command center of some sort? Or seat of their government, perhaps?_

“We recovered the records from your ship’s computers…or what was left of them. Fascinating reading”, Arcann mused thoughtfully as he led them towards the airlock. Hyperia felt her gut clench in alarm. _Is he talking about Marr’s ship or mine?_ She hoped fervently it was the former and that Vette managed to get to safety.

“You Sith are quite formidable….you most of all.” He turned slightly to rest his single eye upon Hyperia, “To alter the course of galactic events as you have….most impressive.”

She met his gaze evenly with her own, golden eyes narrowed, “You don’t need to be impressed with what I’ve done, you need to fear what I’m going to do.”

“Yes….we’ll soon find out what you’re capable of.” He rumbled quietly, briefly sparking curiosity in her, before turning to a single man making his way towards them from the airlock. This one was older dressed in hooded robes with a similar cut to the prince’s, but in a charcoal black accented with even more of the strange script. His eyes were a startling bright silver…almost white….that Hyperia had never seen before.

The man’s gaze swept over them, lingering for a second longer upon her, before offering a slight bow to the prince, “Prince Arcann.”

“Heskal”, venomous disdain coated the prince’s words, “Still waiting for the catastrophe you and your Scions foretold?”

“You may close your ears to the whispers of fate, my Prince, but that does not silence them.” The man’s cryptic mumblings reminded Hyperia of the Jedi.

Apparently, Arcann held no great respect or love for these “Scions” either. “I wonder if silencing _you_ might suffice. Take your superstitious nonsense elsewhere, Heskal. You are not needed here.” He gestured the man away dismissively and shouldered past him. “Come along…”

As the airlock opened with a hiss, Darth Marr spoke up quietly, “You are taking us to your Master.”

“I am taking you to my father, Valkorian: the Immortal Emperor of Zakuul.”

Hyperia and Marr exchanged a glance and, even now, she could feel all-too-familiar ripples in the Force emanating from beyond the airlock. “An Emperor. Just what we were searching for”, Marr murmured.

“You will not find what you were looking for here.” With that Arcannn led them into an elevator which stopped minutes later to open upon an enormous throne room.

Hyperia almost stopped in her tracks at the sheer magnificence of it. The globe she had seen earlier atop the spire was solely dedicated to this room. A single walkway led straight to the dais upon which rested a tall, golden throne. The walkway was lined with knights clad in sleek golden armor and armed with what Hyperia could only describe as lightsaber pikes: a glowing blade of cerulean atop a 2-meter staff. Through the glass, the star-filled galaxy could be seen and the ships of the fleet that had attacked. Hundreds upon hundreds of the angular vessels, arrayed in perfect symmetry.

As they drew closer to the throne, Hyperia’s eyes came to rest on the man sitting upon it. He was an older man…one might even say he looked very distinguished, his white hair and beard impeccably trimmed, his form clad in ornately-engraved armored robes of white and grey, trimmed in gold. There was no mistaking the Force signature that radiated from the man: this was the Sith Emperor.

_Had he taken a new body already? Is this his new Voice?_ Hyperia wondered silently even as Arcann knelt before the throne, announcing, “His Glorious Majesty, Immortal Master and Protector of Zakuul, Emperor Valkorian.” She could not help but wonder if the Emperor noted the faint bit of insolent sarcasm tainting his son’s words.

“Welcome”, the Emperor’s deep voice held almost a hint of warmth…something she had never heard when speaking with his previous Voice. _No doubt, the body he inhabits influences his speech._

Darth Marr stepped forward, no doubt glaring through his mask to the man sitting upon the throne, “A new name, a new face…even these are not enough to hide you from us.”

Hyperia nodded her agreement, “Your presence is unmistakable. You are the Sith Emperor.”

The man known as Valkorian chuckled, “Oh, a mistake has been made, but by whom, I wonder?”

She could not help but be confused. If he had only taken this man as his Voice since he fled Ziost…then this Valkorian already had this Empire established. If that was so, how had they never encountered them before now? Were they an isolationist society who only struck out after Vitiate had possessed their Emperor? Something was not lining up in her mind about all of this….until Marr spoke up.

“You constant silence throughout our history….was this your distraction?” The Sith Lord inquired angrily.

_Of course, why did I not think of that? All of those times the Empire declared him “dead” or “missing” or indisposed….was he here? Establishing this Empire?_

“This…”, Valkorian gestured around him, “…was my focus. Everything else…a means to an end.”

Hyperia felt her stomach clench at his words, _So everything we thought about him…about our Empire…was a lie? He did not rule us so much as he used us…and discarded us when we were no longer of use to him._ She almost chuckled at her own thoughts, _So much like Baras…no wonder so many were willing to accept him as the Emperor’s Voice._

The Emperor’s gaze fell upon her, shaking her from her thoughts, “You claim to have come all this way to find me. Here I am. What do you want?”

Hyperia felt a simmering rage starting to build at his question. She had lived most of her life with the dream of amassing the power to stand at his side. She had been chosen to be his Wrath, to hold a place of command within his Empire, only to find that the entire power structure and the Emperor himself was a sham…a lie. That the Sith Empire was but a middling trifle to him compared to this Eternal Empire he ruled. “You manipulated entire civilizations, arranged decades of war, eradicated life on an entire planet, then fled here. Why?!”

“You will not receive the answers you seek.” He rose from the throne and approached them. “You say you know me. If that is true, then you know the depths of my power. Whatever you hoped to achieve here, you know – deep inside – you cannot succeed.”

She could not help but admit that he was probably right. This was a being that had devoured an entire planet, even draining it of the Force itself. Even if they managed to destroy this body…his vessel…there was no doubt in Hyperia’s mind that he would find another and return as strong as ever.

“But, you do not have to stand against me. Instead…you can kneel.” Valkorian extended his hand and Marr’s shackles fell away.

Without hesitation, Marr yelled, “I will never again kneel to you!”

Valkorian seemed unsurprised at his response, “So you would rather die than acknowledge my superiority?”

“It is you that fears death, Valkorian! I do not!” With a swift gesture, Marr ripped a pike from one of the guards standing nearby, flinging it at a trio who started to rush him, and tossing a second guard off the edge of the walkway with a sharp gesture. Even as he turned to face Valkorian, the Emperor merely stretched out his hand….Hyperia could feel the hair at the nape of her neck stand up as the air itself crackled with energy….and flung a sizzling shaft of pure Force energy at Marr, enveloping him in white-hot lightning.

And in an instant, all was silent, Marr’s body lying still and charred upon the walkway.

“Clear the room! Everyone out!” A woman’s voice broke the silence and Hyperia turned to see a young woman, clad in what Hyperia was beginning to take as the Zakuulan style: a hooded black and charcoal-grey robe, edged in gold, with a sigil identical to the Prince’s upon her belt, gesturing to the knights…who all scurried to her demand.

Returning her gaze to Valkorian, Hyperia smirked, “You’ve already killed more people than I can count. Do you really think one more is going to deter me?”

The Emperor chuckled as he approached her, “No. You are different. In all of my centuries, you alone have merited my full attention. You leave your mark upon the galaxy…just as I do. Look around you: Zakuul is poised to become the greatest civilization in galactic history. I have forged this Empire to surpass all of my previous works…to span eternity. The Eternal Throne commands a fleet more vast than any ever built. It can reshape the galaxy into anything I choose….that _we_ choose. And I will share all of this with you….if you would only kneel.”

Hyperia could not help but be skeptical of his words. _How many times did Baras hide betrayal and deception behind compliments and promises? The Emperor has never shared anything with anyone. And he expects me to believe that I’m special enough for him to willingly share the vast power he has so carefully amassed with me? This has to be a trap._

She opened her mouth to deny him…until her gaze fell on the still-smoking corpse of Marr. _This will be my fate if I say “no”. I will die here…alone… I never got to say goodbye to you, my love. No, I will not let it end this way. I will take what he offers and use it to get away from here and back to your side where I belong. Then…I will kill him._

Sinking to one knee, she bowed her head in obeisance to him, “Your power is unquestionable. If my choice is this or death…then I accept. And will let nothing stand in our way.”

She could feel more than see the smile creasing the Emperor’s lips as he extended his hand, energy crackling from his fingertips, yet not the same destructive power that slew Marr, but slowly-agonizing threads of the Force that forced their way beneath her skin and through her body.

Through the sizzling pain, she heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber, whispered words of “You have made your last mistake—Father”, then the power abruptly stopped. Blinking, she stood shocked to see Prince Arcann’s lightsaber emerging from the Emperor’s chest.

“We shall see”, even in his death throes, the Emperor laughed. As his mirth filled the room, pulses of Force energy began radiating from him…

Explosion….

Energy surging through her body….

Darkness….

_Where am I?_

 


	3. Dreams, Visions, and Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After my dreaming  
> I woke with this fear  
> What am I leaving  
> When I'm done here?
> 
> So if you're asking me  
> I want you to know
> 
> When my time comes  
> Forget the wrong that I've done  
> Help me leave behind some  
> Reasons to be missed  
> And don't resent me  
> And when you're feeling empty  
> Keep me in your memory  
> Leave out all the rest  
> \--"Leave Out All the Rest" by Linkin Park

_Darkness…_

_Pain…._

_A voice…?_

_“I have always loved the stars….”_

_Clarity begins to resolve into grey, empty, desolation….Ziost?_

_Can’t focus…why does everything seem so far away….?_

The voice again, intruding into the fog swirling through her thoughts and vision, “You have earned my respect….to call you Sith is to ignore your true nature…”

_Valkorian….Vitiate….the Emperor….why is he here…in my mind, my dreams?_

The scene focused into clarity for a brief moment as the translucent figure of the Emperor gestured to a rocky plateau ahead. Frozen in time, her ship…her crew….fighting an unknown and unseen enemy. Her gaze honed in on only one….her Captain, her husband…

“The smiling betrayer….” Valkorian intoned, his voice laced with spite as he followed her gaze. “You’ve suffered their existence for years. Even the ones who deserve death.”

Her eyes narrowed, feeling her fury rise at the old man’s rumblings, “I could say the same about you.”

“And I about you…” Valkorian replied with irony dripping from his voice. “But, I kept you around in order to remind myself not to lower my guard. A mistake that did not serve me. And it will not serve you.”

Ignoring him, she kept her gaze fixed upon the frozen image of Quinn, her jaw set stubbornly, “They will not… _he_ will not fail me. I will be free….our passions have kept us strong through everything else.”

“Passions fade with time…and each day they grow further out of reach. Without you...without us….a center to hold onto, they, the galaxy and everything in it spirals into chaos.” With a gesture, the scene before her faded into a swirling mass of grey, accompanied by a stabbing pain that raced through her body, driving her to her knees.

“What….is happening?” She snarled at him through gritted teeth, “What…have you done….to me?”

Valkorian merely stared at her prone form, remarking blandly, “The carbon freezing process was imperfect…you are dying. I am doing what I can to preserve your life, but you must want to live…you must fight.”

A harsh laugh choked from her throat, “If you think that I’m going to just lie down and die, you don’t know me at all, _Emperor_.” The last was spat out as an insult.

“Then….show me…” Again a wave of his hand and the landscape resolved into the same grey wasteland as before, but her ship and her crew were no longer there….only waves upon waves of enemies: mindless creatures, the Zakuulan droid troopers they fought on board Marr’s ship…and even faces from her past, come back to haunt her.

She pushed to her feet, igniting her sabers to meet them, using the agony to push her past her limits. Even though her mind insisted they were not real, she cut the phantoms down anyway….Tremel, Baras, Vengean, Draahg…all of the dead returned only to die again at her hands. The pain, the rage, the desperate need to be out of this dream…or whatever it was…kept her sustained and drove her on.

Valkorian’s voice once more reverberated in her mind, “You were the only one who ever matched my will to survive.” But even as all of her enemies’ bodies faded from where they were piled at her feet, the scene shifted again, staggering her with pain and disorientation until it resolved into the massive throne room she had collapsed in what seemed like mere hours ago.

It looked little different from when she had last seen it, aside from the fact that it was Arcann seated upon the throne instead of Valkorian and the dark-haired young woman who had once lurked quietly near the entrance was now poised at the foot of the throne, her golden-eyed gaze surveying the expanse with haughty disdain. Two figures made their way along the walkway to kneel at the throne and Hyperia’s eyes widened as she recognized Lord Vowrawn as one of the pair, his usually-jovial features fixed into an uncharacteristically-serious glower. The other was dressed in the garb of a Republic senator and Hyperia could not help but wonder what had happened…and how long had it been that she had been trapped in this carbonite dream.

“The Eternal Throne…the new seat of power in the galaxy”, Valkorian intoned as the scene froze before them. “Zakuul has exceeded my expectations….with the most powerful fleet in history and an army of guardians who know that the Force is more than just Light or Dark.”

Hyperia circled the kneeling pair, her brows furrowed in contemplation, searching for any clues as to what had happened and how much time had passed, “How long?” The words were almost whispered because she honestly feared the answer….feared the small chance that Valkorian may have been correct…that she had been forgotten, left for dead.

“Longer than you think”, he only replied cryptically, causing her stomach to lurch. But before she could respond, he continued, his own footsteps taking him on a circuitous route around the young woman, “But my children…they abuse their power. We must deal with them before they ruin everything.”

“And how am I supposed to do that from here? Is that why you…did whatever you did to me? So I could help you take down your own offspring? The one thing that apparently you are not capable of doing on your own?” Hyperia was finding it difficult to focus, the stabbing pain had turned into a constant insistent ache that felt like her bones were slowly being twisted and her innards crushed.

“They are deadly….and worse, lack discipline. Do not underestimate their threat. It will take both of us to undo the damage they have done.” Even as he spoke, the scene shifted and time was restored. The young woman glared at Vowrawn and the Republic senator as they rose and strode from the room, then stopped, her eyes narrowing as they cast about warily. Turning, she drew her lightsaber, the blade a glowing yellow to match her eyes and fixed the area in which Hyperia stood with a baleful glare.

Hyperia could not help but be slightly startled at this. If this was but a dream of carbonite, why could she sense the woman’s presence….and vice versa? “Your daughter…” she assumed the woman was his daughter, since Valkorian spoke of his “children”, “…she senses me…us?”

Something resembling warmth entered the Emperor’s voice as he gazed at the young woman, “Vaylin was always my favorite.”

Upon the throne, even Arcann sensed something amiss and commented to Vaylin, “What is it?” But only received a mute shake of her head in return.

“She does not trust him….” Hyperia mused thoughtfully, noting the suspicious glower Arcann tossed at Vaylin’s back even as the black-clad woman moved to stand directly before her, staring straight into her eyes.

“She trusts no one”, Valkorian rumbled even as Vaylin lunged forward to thrust her lightsaber through Hyperia’s body.

_Agony…._

_If this is a dream…why does it feel like I’m dying…._

She did not realize she had cried the words out loud until she heard the Emperor’s voice echoing through the darkness that started to swallow her, “We are being reborn….”

_Light…blinding…_

_Pain…_

_A voice…woman’s….familiar…_

“Wake up….we have to go!”

_Falling…._

\----------------------------------------

4,927

Quinn heaved a sigh as his gaze travelled up the dull grey wall of his cell, counting the small marks made across its expanse: one for every time he had reached out to try and find her…one for every failed attempt…but one more tiny bit of reassurance that she was not dead, for even though he could not find her, he could still feel her out there, somewhere, alive but unable to respond. It was the only thing that kept him sane in this desolate place, the only shard of hope he had left to cling to after being dumped here unceremoniously without a trial by the new Empress’ Minister.

He was not even sure where “here” was. After the Minister’s men had invaded their Dromund Kaas apartment, he had been roughly shoved into an awaiting speeder, then given an injection of something that knocked him unconscious for the rest of the journey. The prison could have been on Dromund Kaas or any number of other planets…he had no idea how much time had passed between being arrested and finally returning to consciousness inside this small cell that had become his home for the past four and a half years.

_Four and a half years…._ He hated to even think it, but the marks on the wall attested to the time he had spent here. Thankfully, he had been left mostly to his own devices most of the time in a state of almost-forgetful neglect. Aside from the three meals a day and being escorted on solitary walks around the common areas, it was almost as though he didn’t exist….which made the guards lax in their conversations around him.

From them, he managed to pick up bits of information here and there in regards to the state of the galaxy. The enormous fleet that had annihilated their own had gone on to rampage across the core worlds, subjugating both Empire and Republic alike. Both sides eventually negotiated a truce…though it was as much of a farce as the Treaty of Coruscant had ever been, with this new Empire of Zakuul holding the vast majority of the power over the galaxy. The Sith Empire continued, but in a much diminished state under the rule of Empress Acina…who was now more of a figurehead ruling a nearly-empty shell of the Empire it had been.

Quinn could honestly never recall a time when he had felt so helpless. It was as though the entire galaxy had fallen apart around him while he was trapped here. And when things had always been at their worst before, he had always had her….strong, confident, indomitable, passionate….to carry them through whatever came along. But she was gone….her mind trapped somewhere in a place he could not reach her, just as he was trapped here in this prison.

_Where are you, my love…my Lord?_

As the buzzer sounded through the complex, signaling the beginning of the night watch, he reached out once more, as he always did before he went to sleep. And still, the same hollow emptiness echoed back, like knocking on a door where someone was home, but just not answering. He sighed heavily, letting the connection fade until…all at once…

_Confusion…._

_Pain…_

_Blinding…_

_Where am I?!_

_Who are you?!_

_Help….me…._

His eyes went wide as he staggered and fell against the wall, his heart leaping with combined joy and apprehension. She was alive! And aware! He fought to maintain the connection, but everything came in a jumbled rush of chaos and pain, driving him to his knees, his senses overwhelmed….and then everything went black….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I opted to kind of skim over a good chunk of the whole Dreams of Empire chapter for this...since it's mainly just lots of killing crap interspersed with Valkorian's ramblings. I figured I'd leave the meat of the conversations in, but didn't need to go through every step of the way through the Ziost landscape. I know the first part is probably kind of dry, but that's because it's not exactly the most exciting part of the story, but it's something I felt I needed to cover at least briefly to get to the point of her release.
> 
> The Quinn head-canon....I'm only sort of okay with. I'll probably go into a bit more detail of his incarceration in the future. I had lots of ideas, but got interrupted while I was writing this and everything kind of went "poof!". But I needed to write something....and my Taris chapter over in Scarlet and Nightshade just is not wanting to make itself known to me yet. Another case of having a few fleeting ideas, but no real good plan for putting them together.


End file.
